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Formulas for natural frequencies of girder bridge and

continuous rigid frame bridge
ab a a c ad
Qing-fei Gao , Zong-lin Wang , Xiao-heng Lv , Wei Zhang & Li-hui Yin
a
School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin
150090, China
b
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore,
117576, Singapore
c
Heilongjiang Province Longjiao Engineering Detection & Reinforcement Co. Ltd., Harbin
150090, China
d
Institute of Architecture and Engineering, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Published online: 07 Apr 2015.
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To cite this article: Qing-fei Gao, Zong-lin Wang, Xiao-heng Lv, Wei Zhang & Li-hui Yin (2015): Formulas for natural
frequencies of girder bridge and continuous rigid frame bridge, The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering, DOI:
10.1080/19373260.2015.1028170

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 The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19373260.2015.1028170

TECHNICAL PAPER
Formulas for natural frequencies of girder bridge and continuous rigid frame bridge
Qing-fei Gaoa,b*, Zong-lin Wanga, Xiao-heng Lva, Wei Zhangc and Li-hui Yina,d
a
School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China; bDepartment of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117576, Singapore; cHeilongjiang Province Longjiao Engineering
Detection & Reinforcement Co. Ltd., Harbin 150090, China; dInstitute of Architecture and Engineering, Heilongjiang University,
Harbin 150080, China
(Received 21 December 2014; accepted 9 March 2015)

This paper is concerned with the evaluation of natural frequencies for the design of simply supported girder bridges,
continuous girder bridges, and continuous rigid frame bridges. There are two significant parameters affecting the vibration
Downloaded by [Pennsylvania State University] at 04:57 16 April 2015

frequencies. The first parameter is called the span ratio g while the second parameter is called the stiffness ratio k. The
approximate formulas in terms of these parameters are proposed for these three types of bridges. From the analysis results,
it is found that the first mode shape of the continuous rigid frame bridge is mainly induced by the pier other than the
superstructure, when the stiffness parameter k is greater than 10. Finally, the method proposed herein may be adopted to
investigate the natural frequency of other types of bridges.
Keywords: highway bridge; continuous rigid frame bridge; girder bridge; dynamic characteristics; natural frequencies;
estimation formulas

1. Introduction function of the natural frequency, which is used for calcu-

Dynamic characteristics consist of natural frequency,
mode shape, and damping (Makhmalbaf et al. 2011).
They are the principal modal parameters reflecting the
dynamic behaviour and the stiffness of the structure. Also,
dynamic characteristics are determined by the structure
itself, which are not related to the external loads such as
earthquakes, winds, and moving vehicles.
Natural frequency is one of the most important
dynamic characteristics. Based on the theory of reso-
nance, in order to effectively reduce the vibration of
bridges subjected to moving vehicles, the natural fre-
quency of the bridge is adjusted away from the 1.5
4.5
Hz range, which is the common range of the natural fre-
quency for trucks (Cebon 1989; Green, Cebon, and Cole
1995). Also, for sufficient stiffness of the simply sup-
ported girder bridge, the fundamental frequency should be
larger than 3.0 Hz in China, while its lower limit is
3.32 Hz in the former Soviet Union and 3.5 Hz in America
(Li 2012). In the bridge design specifications of Ontario
(Ontario Highway Bridge Design Code, OHBDC) and
Australia, vibration is controlled through a relationship
between the first flexural natural frequency of the bridge
and the live-load deflection (Barth and Wu 2007). More-
over, the dynamic load allowance or the impact factor in
most of the bridge design specifications is expressed as a
lating the dynamic responses of the bridge under moving
vehicles (McLean and Marsh 1998). Finally, the natural
frequency is the basis of all dynamic responses analysis
(Memory, Thambiratnam, and Brameld 1995). It is there-
fore desirable to have approximate formulas for predicting
the natural frequency of different types of bridges.
Natural frequencies and mode shapes of bridges are
usually determined by an analytical, or a semi-analytical
or a numerical method. Most studies have focused on the
simply supported girder bridge and the continuous girder
bridge. Komatsu and Nakai (1970) and Sennah (1998)
evaluated the natural vibration responses of straight and
curved I- or box-girder bridges using Vlasov’s beam the-
ory. Cantieni (1984) conducted an experimental study to
establish a reliable relationship between the fundamental
frequency and maximum span length of bridges. In order
to reduce the significant difference between the estimated
fundamental frequency obtained from the codes and theo-
retical methods, Gao et al. (2012) and Gao, Wang, and
Guo (2013) proposed some improved formulas for calcu-
lating the natural frequency of girder bridges (Gao et al.
2012; Gao, Wang, and Guo 2013). Recently, Mohseni,
Rashid, and Kang (2014) proposed some reliable expres-
sions to predict the first fundamental frequency of multi-
cell box-girder bridges using both numerical simulations

*Corresponding author. Email: 11b332009@hit.edu.cn; gaoqingfei_1986@163.com

Ó 2015 The Institution of Engineers, Singapore

 2 Q-f Gao et al.

and theoretical derivations. It is clear that there is no may be simplified as

approximate formula for predicting the natural frequency
@4 y
of continuous rigid frame bridges. y C EI
m€ D pðx; tÞ (1)
With the development of the high-speed computer and @x4
special software, the natural frequency of bridges can be where the p denotes the force, m the mass per unit length,
obtained by the finite element model. However, some E the elasticity modulus, I the moment of inertia, y, x, are
approximate formulas are still important for design pur- the displacements, and t the time.
poses since these formulas may be used for evaluating the Based on the method of separation of variables, the
dynamic performance of bridges from the conceptual solution (i.e. vibration frequencies and mode shapes) to
design stage and for easily adjusting the stiffness of the differential equation (1) is given by
bridges at the preliminary design phase. In this study we rffiffiffiffiffi
2 EI
combine numerical analysis with a theoretical method to vn D an (2)
estimate the natural frequencies of common bridges. The m
empirical expressions for the frequencies of such bridges ’n ðxÞ D A1 sin an x C A2 cos an x C A3 sinh an x C A4 cosh an x (3)
are established by using regression analysis.
where vn is the nth natural frequency (rad/s), wn the nth
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vibration mode, and an the constant parameter determined

2. Theoretical analysis
Based on unique characteristics of the continuous rigid
frame bridge, the mode shapes can be divided into two
groups. The first group is mainly induced by the super-
structure while the second group is mainly induced by the
pier. Both of them are analysed in this section.
2.1. Dynamic characteristics of the superstructure
To some extent, the dynamic characteristics of the contin-
uous rigid frame bridge are more similar with that of the
continuous girder bridge. The only difference between
them is the contribution of the pier to the whole structure.
As for the continuous girder bridge, the pier and the struc-
ture are separated by bearings. However, the pier is fixed
on the superstructure of the continuous rigid frame bridge.
Therefore, a modification factor may be introduced for
considering the contribution of the pier.
Similarly, the difference between the continuous
girder bridge and the simply supported girder bridge is the
contribution of other spans. So we consider three single-
span bridges with different types of boundary which are
shown in Table 1 (Gao et al. 2014).
As for the Euler beam with a uniform cross section, if
the damping is ignored, the governing equation of motion
by both the cross section and the boundary condition. In
addition, A1, A2, A3, and A4 are constants which are deter-
mined by the boundary condition.
By submitting Equation (3) into the different types of
boundary conditions in Table 1, we obtain results as
shown in Table 2.
From Table 2, it can be seen that the natural frequency
is higher when there are more constraints and the corre-
sponding stiffness is higher. The nth natural frequency of
the single-span bridge with different boundary conditions
can be summarised as
  rffiffiffiffiffi
p n C 0:25b 2 EI
fn D (4)
2 L m
where L is the span length and b a scalar indicator that is
used for denoting different boundary conditions. When
the boundary condition is hinged
hinged, b D 0.
When the boundary condition is fixed
hinged, b D 1 and
when the boundary condition is fixed
fixed, b D 2.
2.2. Dynamic characteristics of pier
To obtain the dynamic characteristics of the pier, the Ray-
leigh method is first discussed, and then the fundamental
mode shape function of the pier is put forward so as to
deduce the theoretical formula for the fundamental

Table 1. Three single-span bridges with different boundary conditions

Boundary Hinged and hinged Fixed and hinged Fixed and fixed

Schematic plot
 00  0  0
Boundary description ’n ð0Þ D 0 ’ n ð0Þ D 0 ’n ð0Þ D 0 ’ n ð0Þ D 0 ’n ð0Þ D 0 ’ n ð0Þ D 0
00 00 0
’n ðLÞ D 0 ’ n ðLÞ D 0 ’n ðLÞ D 0 ’ n ðLÞ D 0 ’n ðLÞ D 0 ’ n ðLÞ D 0

Note: ’ D 0 means the deflection is zero, ’0 D 0 means the rotation is zero, and ’00 D 0 means the moment is zero.
 The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering 3

Table 2. Results of single-span bridges with different boundary conditions.

Boundary Vibration modes Frequency equation First two frequencies

Hinged
hinged ’n ðxÞ D A1 sin an x sin an L D 0 p

a1 D
L
2p
a2 D
L
Fixed
hinged ’n ðxÞ D A1 ½sin an x ¡ sinh an x C tan an L ¡ tanh an L D 0 3:927
a1 D
sinh an L ¡ sin an L L
ðcos an x ¡ cosh an xÞ 7:069
cos an L ¡ cosh an L a2 D
L
Fixed
fixed ’n ðxÞ D A1 ½sin an x ¡ sinh an x C 3 ¡ 2cos an Lcosh an L D 0 4:739
a1 D
cos an L ¡ cosh an L L
ðcos an x ¡ cosh an xÞ 7:853
sin an L C sinh an L a2 D
L
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frequency (Zhou et al. 2013). Based on the energy conser- By substituting Equations (8) and (9) into Equation (6),
vation theorem, the sum of the kinetic energy and the one obtains the following Rayleigh quotient for the circular
potential energy keeps constant during vibration if the frequency
damping is ignored. It can be stated as Z 2 
d 2 ’ðxÞ
L
U CV DC (5) EIðxÞ dx
dx2
where the parameter U is the potential energy, V the v2 D Z 0
(10)
L Xj
kinetic energy, and C a constant value. mðxÞ’2 ðxÞdx C Mi ’2 ðxi Þ
When the displacement is zero, the potential energy is 0 iD1
zero and the kinetic energy reaches the maximum value. As for the mode shape mainly induced by the pier, the
Similarly, when the speed is zero, the kinetic energy is zero vibration mode in the longitudinal direction is more sig-
and the potential energy reaches the maximum value. nificant. It has been found that the mode shape function of
According to Equation (5), the maximum value of potential the pier is similar to the displacement curve induced by a
energy is equal to the maximum value of kinetic energy, i.e. unit concentrated force. Therefore, the mode shape func-
Umax D Vmax (6) tion of the ith pier can be given as
As for common bridges, the displacement of the
3z2 2z3
bridge induced by the natural vibration without damping ’i ðzÞ D ¡ 3 0zhi (11)
can be expressed as h2i hi

yðx; tÞ D ’ðxÞsinðvt C uÞ (7) where hi is the height of the ith pier and z is the position.
The substitution of Equation (11) into Equation (10)
where y is the displacement of the bridge, x the position, t furnishes
the time, v the circular frequency, and ’ the mode shape.
The kinetic energy and the potential energy of the ¡ 1 Z hi
nX nX
¡1
00

bridge are given by EIi ð’ i Þ2 dz ð12EIi =h3i Þ

iD1 0 iD1
v D 2
¡ 1 Z hi
nX
D nX
¡1
(12)
Z
1X M’2i ðhi Þ C mi ’2i dz MC ð13mi hi =35Þ
L j
1 1
VD _ i ; tÞ2 D cos2 ðvt C uÞ
mðxÞy_2 dx C
Mi ½yðx iD1 0 iD1
2 0 2 iD1 2
"Z #
L X
j
where mi is the uniform mass per length of the ith pier, M
 mðxÞ’2 ðxÞdx C Mi ’2 ðxi Þ v2 (8)
0 iD1 the whole mass of the superstructure, and EIi the flexural
rigidity of the ith pier.
Z  2 2 Z L  2 2
1 L
d y 1 2 d ’ðxÞ Finally, to make it convenient for designers, the circu-
UD EIðxÞ dx D sin ðvt C uÞ EIðxÞ dx (9)
2 0 dx2 2 0 dx2 lar frequency v should be transformed into the natural fre-
quency f, i.e,
where m is the uniform mass per length, M the concen-
trated mass, EI the stiffness, and L the span length. f D v=2p (13)
 4 Q-f Gao et al.
Table 3. Parameters of superstructure of bridge considered.
Length of middle Modulus of elasticity
Parameter span Lm (m) E (MPa)
Value 100 3.45 £ 104
3. Numerical simulations
A continuous rigid frame bridge is a large-scale engineer-
ing structure and it is usually located in some key districts
in countries. The typical continuous rigid frame bridge is
a symmetrical structure, and is constructed by adopting
the method of cantilever construction (Li et al. 2013).
Based on the foregoing theoretical analysis, the
bridges considered and most important mode shapes are
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selected at first. Then the relationship between the contin-
uous girder bridge and the simply supported girder bridge
is discussed. Finally, the approximate formulas for natural
vibration frequency of the continuous rigid frame bridge
are obtained.
3.1. Bridge sample and mode shape selection
In order to investigate the dynamic characteristics of the
continuous rigid frame bridge, a large number of bridges
are treated. In addition, the continuous girder bridges with
the same span arrangement are discussed herein.
The parameters of the superstructure of all bridges con-
sidered are listed in Table 3. From this table, it can be
noted that the middle span is fixed at 100 m. The length of
the side span ranges from 50 to 90 m, and the step is 10 m.
If the number of spans is more than three, only the side
span is different from other spans. For continuous rigid
frame bridges, the height of the pier ranges from 5 to 60
m, and the step is 5 m. In addition, the material of the pier
is the same as that of the superstructure. However, the
moment of inertia and the cross-sectional area are different
from that of the superstructure. As for the pier, the moment
of inertia is 34.1682 m4 and the area is 13.6200 m2. The
Figure 2. The first mode shape of continuous girder bridges with different spans. (a) The three-span bridge; (b) the four-span bridge; (c)
the five-span bridge; and (d) the six-span bridge.
Moment of Density
inertia I (m4) r (kg/m3) Area A (m2)
8.8518 2600 8.6050
Ls, I s, As Lm, I m, Am
L p , I p, A p
Figure 1. A three-span continuous girder bridge.
number of spans ranges from three to six. A three-span
continuous girder bridge is shown in Figure 1.
All these bridges are modelled by the commercial
finite element software ANSYS (Moaveni 2003). For the
continuous girder bridge, the first mode shape is the most
important. However, for continuous rigid frame bridges,
there are two types of mode shape that are pertinent. They
can be seen in Figures 2
4.
3.2. Natural frequency of continuous girder bridges
The natural frequency of the simply supported girder
bridge can be easily obtained, and the theoretical value
has been studied, which is given in Equation (4). In order
to investigate the relationship between the natural fre-
quency of the continuous girder bridge and that of the
simply supported girder bridge, the span parameter g is
introduced as defined by
g D Ls =Lm (14)
in which Ls is the length of the side span, Lm the length of
the middle span, and g the ratio between the length of the
side span and that of the middle span.
 The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering 5

Figure 3. Selected mode shapes of the bridge mainly induced by the superstructure. (a) The three-span bridge; (b) the four-span bridge;
(c) the five-span bridge; and (d) the six-span bridge.
Downloaded by [Pennsylvania State University] at 04:57 16 April 2015

The modification factor λ is introduced here, which is
used for studying the association between the natural fre-
quency of the continuous girder bridge and that of the
simply supported girder bridge with the same span length
fcb D λfsb (15)
in which fcb is the natural frequency of the continuous
girder bridge, fsb the natural frequency of the simply sup-
ported bridge, and λ the modification factor related to the
span ratio.
From numerical simulations we obtain the results
which are plotted in Figure 5.
It can be seen from Figure 5 that the minimum value
of R2 is 0.960. In other words, the effect of fitting is very
good. In addition, all regression models are linear. As a
result, they may be summarised as follows:
λ D kg C b (16)
where k is the slope of the linear regression model and b is
the intercept. To determine these two parameters (k and
b), the relationships between these parameters and the
spans number are plotted in Figure 6.
Finally, the natural frequency of the continuous girder
bridge is found to be given by
fcb D ½ð1:322lnðnÞ ¡ 2:429Þg C ð ¡ 1:330lnðnÞ
rffiffiffiffiffi
p EI
C 3:489Þ 2 (17)
2L m
where n is the number of spans and other parameters are
defined as before.
3.3. Mode shape mainly induced by superstructure
The difference between the mode shape of the continuous
girder bridge and the mode shape of the continuous rigid
frame bridge mainly induced by the superstructure is the
contribution of the pier on the whole structure. To investigate
this relationship, the stiffness parameter k is introduced here.
Ep Ip =Lp
kD (18)
Em Im =Lm
where Ep, Ip, and Lp denote, respectively, the modulus of elas-
ticity, moment of inertia, and the height of the pier. Similarly,
Em, Im, and Lm denote, respectively, the modulus of elasticity,
moment of inertia, and the middle span of the superstructure.

Figure 4. Selected mode shapes of the bridge mainly induced by the pier. (a) The three-span bridge; (b) the four-span bridge; (c) the
five-span bridge; and (d) the six-span bridge.
 6 Q-f Gao et al.
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Figure 5. Modification factors of continuous girder bridges with different spans. (a) The three-span continuous girder bridge; (b) the
four-span continuous girder bridge; (c) the five-span continuous girder bridge; and (d) the six-span continuous girder bridge.

Figure 6. Slope k and intercept b in the estimation formula. (a) Slope k and (b) intercept b.
 The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering 7

It has to be noted that k is the linear stiffness ratio rather than
the whole rigidity.
The modification factor h is introduced here, which is
used for studying the relationship between the natural fre-
quency of the continuous rigid framer bridge and that of
the continuous girder bridge with the same span length, i.e.
fcr D hfcb (19)
where fcr is the natural frequency of the continuous rigid
frame bridge mainly induced by the superstructure and h is
the modified factor related with the stiffness ratio.
From numerical simulations, the results are plotted in
Figure 7.
It can be seen from Figure 7 that the minimum value
of R2 is 0.972. In other words, the effect of fitting is very
good. In addition, all regression models are similar. As a
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To determine these two parameters (k and b), the rela-
tionships between every parameter and the span parameter
are plotted in Figure 8.
Finally, the natural frequency of the three-span contin-
uous rigid frame bridge mainly induced by the superstruc-
ture is given by
fcr D ½ð0:186g ¡ 0:020ÞlnðkÞ C ð0:499g C 0:930Þfcb (21)
where the natural frequency of the continuous girder
bridge fcb is given by Equation (17).
Similarly, the natural frequency of the continuous rigid
frame bridge with more than three spans mainly induced by
the superstructure can be investigated by the same method.
3.4. Mode shape mainly induced by pier

result, they can be summarised as follows: According to engineering experience, the fundamental
h D klnðkÞ C b (20) mode shape of the continuous rigid frame bridge is the
mode shape mainly induced by the pier other than that
where k is the slope of the linear regression model and b is mainly induced by the superstructure when the pier is
the intercept. high.

Figure 7. Modified factors of continuous rigid frame bridges with different span parameters. (a) The span parameter g D 0.5; (b) the
span parameter g D 0.6; (c) the span parameter g D 0.7; and (d) the span parameter g D 0.8.
 8 Q-f Gao et al.
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Figure 8. Slope k and intercept b in the estimation formula. (a) Slope k and (b) intercept b.

Figure 9. Modified factors of continuous rigid frame bridges with different span parameters. (a) The span parameter g D 0.5; (b) the
span parameter g D 0.6; (c) the span parameter g D 0.7; and (d) the span parameter g D 0.8.
 The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering
Based on the theoretical investigation, the fundamen-
tal natural frequency of the cantilever beam (one end is
fixed, and the other end is free) fc is given by (Song 2000)
rffiffiffiffiffi
p EI
fc D 0:356£ 2 (22)
2L m shape is the one mainly induced by the pier other than the
The modification factor z is introduced here, which is
used for studying the relationship between the natural fre-
quency of the continuous girder bridge mainly induced by
the pier and that of the cantilever beam, where the length
is the same as the height of the pier.
fcp D zfc (23)
in which fcp is the natural frequency of the continuous rigid
frame bridge mainly induced by the pier. It has to be noted
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that L in Equation (22) is equal to the height of the pier.
From numerical simulations, the results are plotted in
Figure 9.
From Figure 9, it can be seen that the minimum value
of R2 is 0.982. In other words, the effect of fitting is good.
In addition, all regression models are similar. As a result,
they can be summarised as follows:
z D klnðkÞ C b (24)
where k is the slope of the linear regression model and b is
the intercept.
It is clear that the slope k is ¡0.28. To determine the
parameter b, the relationships between the parameter b
and the span parameter are plotted in Figure 10.
Finally, the natural frequency of the three-span contin-
uous rigid frame bridge is given as
fcp D ½ ¡ 0:28lnðkÞ C ð¡ 0:257g C 1:232Þ fc (25)
where the natural frequency of the cantilever beam fc is
given by Equation (22).
Figure 10. Intercept b in the approximate formula.
9
Similarly, the natural frequency of the continuous rigid
frame bridge with more than three spans mainly induced
by the pier can be investigated by the same method.
In addition to all the bridges considered, when the
height of the pier is more than 30 or 35 m, the first mode
superstructure. The corresponding stiffness parameter is
about 10. Therefore, it can be concluded that, when the
stiffness parameter k is greater than 10, the first mode
shape of the continuous rigid frame bridge is mainly
induced by the pier.
4. Conclusions
Based on the theoretical and numerical analyses, the fol-
lowing conclusions may be drawn:
(1) Natural frequencies of the single-span beam with
different types of boundary condition are theoreti-
cally analysed, and the formulas are obtained. The
relationship between the continuous girder bridge
and the simply supported girder bridge is dis-
cussed, and the approximate formula for the
vibration frequencies of the continuous girder
bridges is proposed based on the results obtained
from numerical simulations.
(2) Natural frequencies of the three-span continuous
rigid frame bridge mainly induced by the super-
structure and the pier, respectively, are discussed
based on numerical simulations. Two parameters
are introduced herein for the proposed approximate
formulas. The first parameter is the span ratio g
and the second parameter is the stiffness ratio k.
(3) When the stiffness parameter k is greater than 10,
the first mode shape of the continuous rigid frame
bridge is mainly induced by the pier other than
the superstructure.
Finally, it has to be emphasised that the method pro-
posed herein can be adopted to investigate the natural fre-
quency of other types of bridges.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the valuable comments given by the
reviewers and the detailed further polish of the English by Ali F.
Naser and Mosbeh R. Kaloop.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work was supported by the China Scholarship Council (the
2013 China State-Sponsored Postgraduate Study Abroad
 10 Q-f Gao et al.
Programme), the National Natural Science Foundation of China
[grant number 51308465], [grant number 50678051], [grant
number 51108132], [grant number U1234208] and the Funda-
mental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant num-
ber 2682014CX004EM]. The authors would like to express their
deep gratitude to all the sponsors for the financial aid.
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